Matt Jones clears anchoring concern to make great par at Sony Open

Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose returns from his holiday break to the California desert, as does Phil Mickelson to challenge Jon Rahm’s title defense as the TOUR makes its traditional first stop on the U.S. mainland in the new calendar year. Related: Field | Past results | Course overview It’s the 60th edition of what was once Bob Hope’s grassed stage. Celebrities who have passed through the Classic’s pro-am have ranged from Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and Phil Harris to George Lopez, Alice Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson to U.S. presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. FIELD NOTES: Danny Willett tees it up for the first time since ending his 2018 with a victory at the European Tour’s season finale. The English pro, forced to rebuild his swing after back woes, has revived his PGA TOUR membership after a year away. … PGA West is anticipating 12 of the current top 30 in the FedExCup standings. … Charlie Reiter, who opened 68-70 in last year’s event as a high schooler, is back on another sponsor exemption. The two-time Southern California prep champion now is a freshman at USC. … John Catlin, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour last year, also got an exemption. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Rose tees it up on U.S. soil for the first time since he took home the FedExCup trophy at East Lake, making his first Desert Classic visit since 2010. After three top-4 finishes in the FedExCup Playoffs, he took third at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in October and won the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open the following week. … Mickelson, who also serves as a Classic ambassador, seeks a third crown for his portfolio to go with wins in 2002 and 2004. It’ll be his first competitive round since beating Tiger Woods in “The Match� over Thanksgiving weekend. … Rahm arrives off a share of eighth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, his third straight top-10 finish worldwide. That includes a win at the 18-man Hero World Challenge. … Adam Hadwin, who shot 59 two years ago but was chased down by Hudson Swafford on the final day, takes another shot at desert glory. … Rahm’s victory made him just the second international winner in the past 15 Classics. Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) was the other, prevailing in 2011. … La Quinta Country Club is in the rotation for the 48th time, missing only eight Classics since its debut in 1964. That’s a longer run than all but four PGA TOUR venues. COURSE: TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, 7,113 yards, par 72. Now in its fourth year as host, Pete Dye’s 1986 design finally fits into the role for which it first was envisioned. Given the task of testing golfers to the utmost, Dye built a layout featuring deep bunkers, pushed-up greens and plenty of water. The course made its debut for the 1986 Skins Game and joined the Classic rota in 1987. The Skins Game stayed five more years, with six editions of the TOUR’s qualifying finals later held at the Stadium course. The event’s pro-am format also will utilize PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament course (7,159/72) and La Quinta CC (7,060/72) in the first three rounds. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Patrick Reed (2014). Note: Steve Stricker shot 255 through his first 72 holes in 2009, when the Hope was a five-round tournament. 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, David Duval (5th round, 1999 at PGA West/Palmer), Adam Hadwin (3rd round, 2017 at La Quinta CC). Stadium Course record: 63, Jonathan Fricke (2nd round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*), Whee Kim (2nd round, 2012 Qualifying Finals*). Nicklaus Tournament record: 59, Harrison Frazar (4th round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*). Note: Q-School does not count as an official PGA TOUR event. LAST YEAR: Rahm beat back Andrew Landry’s playoff challenge – not to mention impending darkness – with a birdie on the fourth extra hole, notching his second TOUR victory and fourth worldwide in a 51-week span. Rahm began his week with a 62 at La Quinta CC, but began the final day two shots off Austin Cook’s pace before posting a 5-under-par 67. Landry forced extra holes with a birdie on the final hole of regulation, and they matched pars on the first three holes before Rahm found the touch from 11 feet in fading light. It was Rahm’s second win in three starts bridging the holidays. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Live streaming of featured groups Thursday-Friday. RADIO: Thursday-Saturday, 1-7 p.m.; Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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We made it. In addition to everything we've learned and as much as our behavior has been modified in 2020, we've been reminded not to take anything for granted. This includes the traditional time off from official tournament action between the holidays. The Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN concludes the fall portion of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season and does so after the Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. A field of 132 has assembled at Mayakoba Resort's El Camaleón Golf Club on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Details on the host course, how defending champion Brendon Todd prevailed and other analysis can be found beneath the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: MAYAKOBA GOLF CLASSIC Notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider will include defending champion Brendon Todd, 2016 champion Pat Perez, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland and Joaquin Niemann. The PGA TOUR hasn't held a competition contributing to the FedExCup or with official earnings in December since 1973. In what was known as the Walt Disney World Golf Classic and in its third edition - all in December - it concluded on Dec. 1 just as the first two had, with Jack Nicklaus as champion. (The tournament then evolved into a perennial stop in October or November until its run ended in 2012 as the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.) While wholesale rescheduling and other adjustments guided the return of golf since June of this year, the Hero World Challenge wasn't saved. Originally scheduled to be contested this week, it was officially canceled in October. The upside is that a few of the golfers who may have pegged it in the Bahamas were not forced into a choice. Additionally, the winner at Mayakoba will earn exemptions into THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship in 2021 (and probably the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational once the Official World Golf Ranking's strength-of-field rating is determined late this week). He'll also be the last qualifier into the Sentry Tournament of Champions when that tournament reopens this season on Jan. 7-10. El Camaleón consistently has favored the golfer who finds the fairway off the tee, not as a rule but by profile. It's not a coincidence that needle-threaders like Fred Funk (2007), Brian Gay (2008), Mark Wilson (2009), John Huh (2012), Graeme McDowell (2015) and Matt Kuchar (2018) preceded Todd, a sharpshooter in his own right. In fact, it's the entirety of the ball-striker's toolbox that's rewarded throughout the picturesque Greg Norman design on the Riviera Maya. At just 7,017 yards, El Camaleón is a track for all. Consider that Todd ranked 79th of 82 in driving distance here last year. (Because ShotLink is not utilized, only the par-5 fifth and 13th holes measure drives for statistical purposes. No. 7 is the third of the three par 5s on the par 71.) However, he split one more fairway per round than the field average and ranked third in greens in regulation, T8 in putts per GIR and T4 in scrambling. Todd also capitalized on what annually is a set of the easiest par 3s on any course that hosts the PGA TOUR. He played the quartet in bogey-free 7-under to rank T2. He also co-ed the field in par-4 scoring, thus softening the bite of where El Camaleón challenges. Meanwhile, with no changes to the layout since last year, those returning will be reacquainted with the consistency of paspalum greens running up to 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. Lush primary rough at two inches will factor into a few decisions on club selection, thus lifting course management as a quiet prerequisite. Last year's field averaged 70.087. That's both in line with its history and a fair target this week. Just as severe weather banged Thursday's scheduled first round before a single shot could be struck a year ago, similarly inclement conditions are all but guaranteed to impact play this Thursday. The threat extends in earnest through Saturday before it tapers. The energy is not associated with a tropical disturbance, so wind should not be an issue. Time will tell if the tournament will require a Monday finish like last year, but with nowhere to compete next week, there are worst things than spending another night in paradise during the holiday season, especially in 2020. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY/MONDAY (post-Mayakoba): Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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